Always in motion, is the future
by Connor846
Summary: Nick Fury receives a report about something that occurred during the Battle of New york that will change Earth and the Avengers ... opening up whole new worlds of possibility for all of them.
1. The Report

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or the Avengers. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

This is a teaser to an idea that's been floating around in my head ever since I watched the original trilogy and then saw the Avengers movie.

I hope you enjoy it. As always, all constructive reviews will be appreciated.

Connor

Author's note: This is only the beginning of an idea that's been sketched out in my head. I think it's an interesting concept that can be explored in multiple story arcs. Let me know what you think.

* * *

**2 Days after the Battle of New York  
S.H.E.I.L.D. Temporary Headquarters  
Governors Island  
Medical Facility **

Director Nick Fury stared out the windows into the bright, cloudless, sunny day, with something akin to a blank look on his face. To a casual observer, it looked like he was off in another world, not tuned into anything happening around him.

His hands, however, were a different story. With only a casual glance at them from time to time, the carefully applied a cleaning cloth to a set of cards arrayed out on the table in front of him ... cards that bore the remnants of blood.

With a slight sigh, his eyes moved down to the prone figure lying on the bed before him.

Barely above a whisper, anyone one else in the room would have heard him say: "You're still under orders, Phil"

With no response, other than the monotonous beep of the monitors, he settled back into the routine of cleaning the most prized possession of Agent Coulson, the Captain America vintage trading cards.

An unknown quantity of time passed before a clearing throat was heard. Fury didn't react, noticeably, and kept up his blank stare out the window.

However, Agent Maria Hill, Fury's executive officer and deputy director of SHEILD, could read her boss like an open book. She knew that his mind was racing a mile a minute, factoring in every piece of intelligence and experience, preparing for what was to come.

Earth was no longer an isolated planet.

Thor had said it best, before the battle. Earth had shown a capacity for a higher form of warfare and had probably caught the attention of some real nasty customers. There was the very real possibility now that other races were going to start knocking on the door and find humanity severely lacking.

Taking a deep breath, she prepared to step forward into the line of his sight and deliver some more news that had come out of the battle. Before she even made that forward motion, though, Fury spoke:

"What have you got for me, Hill"

Noticing that her reflection was present in the glass he was looking through, she quirked her lips in a very tiny smirk and handed a folder to him. Fury ceased his cleaning and accepted it without comment. He began to leaf through the various pages.

"And what, exactly, am I looking at here?"

Knowing that he had already drawn the same conclusion that was laid out in the report, she simply stated:

"It appears we have another set of heroes around, Sir, ones that completely escaped our notice until now."

Snapping the folder shut, Fury turned towards the Stark sPad she carried and said a simple, yet terse, command.

"Show me what we've got"

Hill moved toward said monitor and tapped out a short sequence on the touch screen. A collection of thumbnails came up and she tapped the first one.

"This was brought to our attention by one of the lower level analysts who was examining the various Chitauri remains." She began.

The photo showed the cyborg alien laying on an autopsy table. Both parts of it.

"As you can see here, it was bisected in half with something capable of cutting through their body armor like it wasn't even there. I had the examiner look for similar wounds on other Chitauri. There were 34 total".

The expression on Fury's face barely changed, except for his eyebrow to start rising a few millimeters. After a few seconds of examining the autopsy photos, he motioned for Hill to continue.

"I had one of our other Agents hack into the traffic and security cameras around the area where these bodies were found. Here's what we found, from different perspectives, which we could piece together into a timeline. We could only pull stills and a little bit of video as the equipment was damaged from the attack"

She then swiped her finger across the tablet and the slide show started playing.

It first showed two individuals exiting an electronics store. They bore a wary look across their faces, but not ones that seemed to be panicking like other civilians around them. The first of the pair was taller, about maybe 6'1" or so, with dark black hair and vivid green eyes. The look on his face was tense, but he seemed calm. The second of the pair was shorter, older with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes appearing out, calmly surveying the action that had started taking place.

While both were wearing standard civilian attire; jeans, t-shirts, and jackets, the smaller blonde one was wearing a dark glove that completely covered his right hand.

_Interesting_ thought Fury … but so far, he was unimpressed. That was about to change, rapidly.

The next sequence of pictures showed the two almost literally bursting into action. The cameras barely caught their blurred forms as they attacked the Chitauri that were descending down the buildings. They seemed to be able to twist their bodies to outmaneuver shots that were heading towards them, all the while kicking and punching the various aliens into submission. A few shots even had them disarming the foot soldiers, using their own rifles to fire back upon the growing numbers of attackers.

Something appeared to have changed about a third of the way into the sequence, though. The two were seeking shelter behind a car with bright flashes almost obscuring the picture.

It was then that Fury almost went into shock.

In the next picture the car that they were hiding behind could be seen in the air … literally _plowing_ it's way through a squad of the Chitauri soldiers.

Hill stopped the slideshow and said: "We managed to capture some video of what happened next. It's from a bit of a distance, but it manages to capture the element of the fight."

Touching a file on the screen, the imaged blew up to full screen and the picture of the two individuals came into focus. It almost seemed like they were lazily contemplating what they had just done when the right hand of each individual snaked underneath their jackets. A metal cylinder was produced and brought by both of them into a ready position.

Almost simultaneously the two metal cylinders ignited, for lack of a better word, into glowing blades of blue and green.

The taller dark haired one, with his blue blade flashing, took off in a speedy run that the camera had trouble keeping in focus. Within seconds, almost like a dance, he had mowed down several Chitauri and was moving towards something off to the side. One move, which corresponded to the autopsy photo, had him sliding towards a soldier to get under his fire then coming up in a kneeling position with the blade making a wide right handed arc. The two separate halves proceeded to topple to the street, lifeless.

The smaller blonde took up a more defensive stance and started _blocking_ the shots that were being fired at him. As he was doing so, he started a steady walk towards the main line of the soldiers. Fury could see a soldier descending the building off to his right, stopping to take aim with a rifle. It fired off a three round burst, in an amazingly accurate shot, heading straight for the blonde's head, which would have decapitated him instantly.

Instead, without even glancing in their direction, he swung his sword, for lack of a better term, up over his shoulder and deflected all three shots harmlessly into the street. Only then did he turn his gaze onto the sniper.

With a barely a raised eyebrow the blonde merely shifted his right hand off the sword and raised it towards the Chitauri who had fired off at him. He made a fist in the air and pulled it slightly towards himself. As if possessed by an invisible force, the sniper was pulled off the building and left hanging in the air momentarily.

The blonde then rotated his wrist, opening his hand, and shoved it toward the ground. The Chitauri responded in kind, falling for a second and then accelerating like something was _pushing_ him downwards. It slammed into the concrete with such force that it rattled the windows where it landed.

"Telekinetic" mumbled Fury, already mentally cataloguing their powers with an idea growing in his head.

His attention was caught on the screen again, but this time by a flash of blue. The taller dark haired one had moved himself in front of a young girl holding a bundle in her arms … A bundle that had two tiny little arms, and a tiny face, waving at the loud noises and bright lights all around it. Fury, who had supreme control of his emotions and was known for being a cold and manipulative bastard, felt his heart clench up in fear. Even children could move his heart, for they were the innocents of the world and deserved nothing of the hell that Loki had brought upon the world.

The dark haired warrior seemed to feel the same. He weaved a tapestry of light before the defenseless woman, glancing back at the bundle in her arms, but he was slowly being pressed backwards by the sheer onslaught of fire. Just at that moment the security camera jostled as one of the Leviathans flew by, dropping off more Chitauri for battle. It glanced off the building that the warrior was in front of, scraping debris off and sending it falling to the street below.

The Chitauri soldiers paused in their merciless fire, each one raising its eyes towards the chunks of concrete falling towards them. They reacted as most beings would, turning around and running to get out of the impact zone. The tall stranger did not, however, react in the same way.

Changing position, with the energy sword now pointing downward, he raised it up and threw it like a spear into the back of the nearest soldier. Surprise flashed across its face as the blue beam exploded from its chest before it collapsed, dead and face down, in the street. The sword shut itself off and rolled a short distance away.

None of this concerned the dark haired man, as he stepped backwards over towards the huddled and frightened woman. He raised his arms and narrowed his eyes in concentration, seeming to feel the strain of the debris. Amazingly, most of the debris slowed and began hovering in the air with peripheral chunks falling off to the sides.

With a smirk on his face, he lowered his head from looking up and stared straight at the gathered Chitauri … who could only stare back at him in what appeared to shock. With the smirk growing into a grin, he brought both arms down and pointed them at the soldiers.

The debris responded in kind.

The chunks of concrete, shards of glass, and other small items slammed into the Chitauri with bone shattering force. Their armor cracked and their bodies crunched under assault, decimating most of the ranks on the street and ending the fighting.

A pleased smile remained on warriors face … only until the blonde one stepped into view. He merely raised an eyebrow at the younger man, who promptly wiped the grin off his face. The younger dark haired one seemed to let out a sigh and started saying something.

Fury tapped the pause button on the video and turned to Hill with his unspoken question.

"The best as the lip readers could make out was something about 'Adventure … excitement … crave not'. That's all we could make out. Frankly, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense" she said.

Fury regarded her for a moment before turning back to the video, saying only this: "You should have also noted that they were speaking English".

Hill's mouth dropped open as he tapped the play button again.

The video resumed with both warriors moving towards the young woman and child who cowered in terror against the building. The dark one casually raised a hand and the hilt of his thrown energy sword flew back into his hand. The blonde one, who always seemed to have a calm air of serenity about him, raised a hand to help the woman to her feet. She, however, was having none of it, scooting backwards in fear of the two people in front of her.

Breaking said air of serenity and calm, the blonde rolled his eyes and waved a hand in front of her face, while saying something directly to her. A glazed look came across her face, allowing the dark haired warrior to help her to her feet. He gently pointed her towards a subway entrance where she ran off to safety.

Both of Fury's eyebrows were raised now. "Telekinetic _and_ Telepathic" he murmured …

Both warriors watched her go for a moment when, suddenly, they ignited their swords and whirled around to face a new danger.

Coming down the street was a platoon of Chitauri soldiers. As one, the platoon paused and took in the devastation around them. The dead soldiers in front of them seemed to ignite their anger and they screamed, as one, and charged the two warriors.

The video came to a stop then.

Fury leaned back, his mind racing at the seemingly impossible feats that these warriors could do. Hill spoke up then, telling him what happened after it ended.

"As best as we can tell that was right when Stark nuked the main Chitauri Battleship. They grabbed a pair of motorcycles off the street and left. We tracked them up the West side highway … but we lost them once they hit the Henry Hudson"

Fury sat there for a moment contemplating everything he had just seen. Turning his gaze back to Hill, he said:

"I want these two found, _now_. Spare every resource we can, outside of our rebuilding efforts and the Avengers. When you find them, bring them in."

Hill cocked her head to one side then asked: "Sir, they just saved a lot of people and killed a lot of Chitauri … and you want them detained?"

"No, not detained, just … wanted for questioning. If I'm right, and I usually am, then the technology they possess, as well as their fighting skills and powers, might be just what we need in order to start getting us up to par for an imminent invasion."

"Invasion?"

"Do you really think the Chitauri are not going to come back after the ass whooping the Avengers gave them? They'll be back, in force … and there may be others as well."

"I understand, Sir."

With that, she smartly saluted and turned to leave. This left Fury alone again, with only the bloodstained cards and Coulson … neither one of which could answer the questions raging through his mind.

Fury finished with one card and gently placed it down to pick up another with a gentleness that was quite out of character for him. As time passed, outside, on the horizon, dark ominous clouds appeared on the skyline … flashes of thunder highlighting the contrast with the bright blue sky.

Fury paused in his cleaning, glancing towards the gathering storm, and said:

"It's time for you to wake up Phil … I'm going to need my best agent for what's to come …"


	2. Opening moves

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or the Avengers. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

I hope you enjoy it. As always, all constructive reviews will be appreciated.

Connor

Author's note: Thank you for the kind reviews. I have a great concept of where I'm going to go with this, so I hope all of you enjoy the one world I am melding out of two. I have only recently returned to writing after a long hiatus and I intend to focus only on one story till it's done. So, enjoy the ride folks, it's going to be an interesting one!

* * *

**Asgard  
Bifrost bridge remnants  
Now**

The tall, dark, golden clad figure stood upon the remnants of the rainbow bridge. He was known as Heimdall … and he saw all that happened across the nine realms, as well as the movement of space and time itself.

He stood silently, not even moving a muscle, till something caught his attention. Something had … changed … and he wasn't quite sure what it was yet. Something was shifting, and it might not be for the better.

Focusing his enhanced senses through the ethereal void, his gaze fell upon the two warriors from the battle of New York. They had previously been unimportant, but now they occupied what he liked to call a point of divergence. Loki and Thor, during their brief battle upon the bridge, had occupied such a point in the time stream, setting in motion events that had played out on midgard.

As he looked further, he could tell that they were human, but not from anywhere in the nine realms that he could see. What he could tell was that they were from a realm far, far, away and had come here by accident only. He could also sense great power flowing through both of them, especially the older blonde warrior, and a connection to a force much the same as the Odin Force that the Allfather weilded.

Before he could return to his ruminations on the realms, something struck him. It wasn't a physical blow, but more akin to a mental flash. Like those midgard projections Thor was so fond of, images flashed through his consciousness with a dizzying speed. They were so fast that he couldn't make sense of them ... except for one.

Thor's brother in arms, the Avengers, and his cherished realm of midgard were in danger. Humans, much like the Captain, were rising to overwhelm Earth's guardians. And behind them were other beings like the two warriors, and yet … unlike them at the same time. When Heimdall focused on their image, he felt a chill skitter down his spine. The power they wielded represented all things wrong … it was pure evil.

Arching an eyebrow, he decided that it was time to let Odin and Thor know of coming events on Midgard. He turned towards the city watch members who casually stood guard with him ever since Loki had incapacitated him and let the frost giants slip through.

"Summon Thor Odinson and notify the Allfather that I wish to speak with them both. There are events happening on Midgard that they need to be aware of" he said.

The Asgardian saluted, hand to heart, and rode off towards the city. Heimdall turned his attention back towards the abyss that stretched out before him and whispered:

"I see the storm coming … Beware Skywalker."

**XXXXXX**

**New York State  
Orange County  
Tullamore Estate  
Overlooking the Hudson River**

It was a rare scene of stillness and beauty that graced Luke Skywalker's eyes. He sat upon a high bluff overlooking what the people of this world called the "Hudson" river. Being raised in a desert environment had left a mark on the Jedi Master, leaving him to have a deep appreciation of a world so full of life and things that were green.

Sinking down into a cross legged pose, Luke reached out with his being and submerged himself into the Force. He stayed for a bit in the ebb and flow of its gentle currents until images started coming through his mind.

Six dark cloaked beings, and one gray cloaked individual, held blood red sabers in a circle. In the center was a globe of the planet he currently resided on. Each pointed the tip of their saber at a location and began to push it through, wounding the spinning orb.

All except the grey one. He could sense the hesitation there.

The image changed, this time focusing on a woman with dark hair and eyes in some sort of uniform. She appeared frozen, hand outstretched towards a device, with a silent yell frozen on her lips. Another image, this one of a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, with a star in the center of his chest, ghosted across his minds eye … and then both disappeared.

The final one was of the team of individuals he had come to know, through the media, as the Avengers. The team, however, didn't look to be in the best shape. They appeared battered, bruised, and looked like they were barely standing up. Two lightsabers, a blue and a green one, appeared, held in the honor guard salute position, and started walking towards them. As they did, the cuts healed, the bruises faded, and the team stood up straighter … with a determined look in their eye.

As the images gently receded from his minds eye, he opened his eyes to the bright, gentle day before him. Ruminating for a while on what those visions could possibly mean, he tempered his impatience with the knowledge that the Force would reveal all to him in its own time. All that was required, on his part, was patience and lack of frustration.

For these events and places, he had no problem with it. For other things … his frustration mounted a little more each day. Turning his gaze skyward, where he knew his own galaxy lay, he quietly spoke aloud:

"I miss you, Mara. I will find a way home to you soon."

At that moment, though, a loud electrical sounding _snap_,followed by an even louder _BOOM_, came from the area of the barn. A half a second later came the panicked screaming of his traveling companion, Jedi Knight Liam Connacht.

"AHHH! WIRES CROSSED! SHUT IT OFF! R2, SHUT IT OFF!"

Looks like the way home was going to have to wait a little while longer …

**XXXXXX**

**Washington D.C.  
SHIELD Records Division**

Hans Kholer, head of the records division, was shocked.

For twenty years he had maintained all of SHIELD's vast records, ranging from all the sensitive paper blueprints, and documents, to the digital information stored on massive servers spread out across the country. He had seen every code, every type of record to ever come across this place. He had been trained by Mr. Rockwell, the previous head of records, who had been trained by one of the founders, Howard Stark, the genius who designed the storage system. He really thought he had seen everything about the system … until now.

On his screen flashed a code, followed by information, he had never seen before and only been informed about once … twenty years ago.

-System override-

File: 07041946V-PC/SR

Authorization code: Alpha01

Registered: Do not open until 2012

Action: Direct to head of Strategic Scientific Reserve

-System override-

Sitting back in his chair, Kholer felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him. He didn't know what PC/SR meant … but the first string of numbers indicated a date ... and the location. The V stood for the Vault, where only the most sensitive information was kept.

This one would have to go right to Director Fury.

**XXXXXX**

There was nothing special about the man standing in front of a floor to ceiling set of windows. He was rather short with graying blonde hair, a bit of a receding hairline, and glasses. He gazed through the windows overlooking a bay, seeming to study the people and the vehicles that moved around outside.

None of this registered to him, however. His mind was lost in another place, another time.

With a blank expression on his face, he half turned to the figure that stood rooted in the shadows. Eyeing the dark cloaked man for a second, he said:

"Most of our agents are in place. All that is required is for you to insert yourself on the helicarrier and complete the task you have chosen."

The dark figure merely nodded, saying nothing in reply. Turning back to the windows he said:

"Once this is done, I will reverse engineer the Chitauri tech and you … you can do what you please with the heroes, the so called Avengers."

Taking a step out of the shadows, the dark cloaked man drew back his hood to reveal a face that contained burning yellow eyes and a mouth drawn into a snarl.

With a raspy voice, he replied "I will show them the true power of the Dark Side … as my Master has foreseen. And I will get you your precious technology, Nikolas Zola, as that is the bargain you and my Master agreed upon."

Nikolas Zola, grandson to the famed World War II scientist, only nodded his head once as the Dark Jedi withdrew into the shadows again. Placing a hand upon the cool glass before him, he whispered softly:

"I will succeed where you and Schmidt failed, Grandfather. I will succeed … and the world will tremble before me."


	3. Hello

**SHIELD Hellicarrier  
One Week Later  
Bridge**

It was a fairly benign morning in the world of Deputy Director Hill, as she stood on the bridge, surveying her domain. It was a sad sight to see her command sitting still inside a drydock, but overall things were going well for a change.

Repairs were almost complete, the world's various terrorist organizations were relatively quiet … probably trying to think of a way to take advantage of the Chitauri attack and she had her Starbucks venti coffee with two shots of espresso and soy milk.

_Dear Sweet Nectar of the GODS_ was her only thought as she lifted the paper mug upwards. This was one definite advantage to being grounded at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There was a Starbucks on damn near every corner in this city.

She almost had the sweetened savory concoction to her lips when a loud beep rang out through the silent bridge.

She contemplated ignoring it for a whole second before her name was called. "Agent Hill! We have a hit from the facial recognition program."

Breathing out a heavy sigh, she set the holy cup of coffee on the table and made her way over to the junior agent's station. On the screen before her was the same face she had seen over a week ago in what the agents were now calling the "Sword and Sorcery clip". The taller of the pair, the dark haired one, had taken his motorcycle helmet off and stared straight at the traffic camera he was parked near. He shook his head a little and proceeded to get off his motorcycle.

_It's almost like he knows we're watching_, she thought.

Not wasting anymore time, she clicked a button on her earpiece which would summon Director Fury. He would want to put together a team to bring in the swordsman, a team that should have been put together five minutes ago.

But first, she had to take a minute to savor her coffee …

**Barnes & Noble  
Mid-town Manhattan  
New York City**

_This … is a _really_ dumb idea_ thought Jedi Knight Liam Connacht.

Here he sat inside a book store in the city that earth people called "New York". While he loved the history of the area, and could probably spend a whole day just wandering around and taking in the scenery, the last thing he wanted was a conflict with the authorities.

Conflict drew attention and that was something that they could not afford right now. It seemed however, that Master Skywalker disagreed with him …

His mind flashed back to the conversation he had with Luke only a few hours ago.

**Three Hours Ago  
Tullemore Estate  
New York State**

"Liam, I want you to go into New York" said Skywalker.

Connacht, who had been sitting in one of the overstuffed recliners reading a history book, sprung up at the sudden sound of the Grand Master's voice.

"FRAK! Master Skywalker! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he said

Raising an eyebrow at his errant Knight, he said: "A Jedi should always be mindful of his surroundings, Liam."

Looking properly chastened, Liam replied with an exasperated eye roll: "Yes Master Skywalker … but, you were saying?"

Studying him carefully for a minute, all the while silently making comparisons to other figures in his life that wore smirks like every other person wore a shirt, he said: "I want you to go into New York and get yourself noticed."

Now it was Connacht's turn to be silent for a minute.

"You want me to _what_?"

"Go get noticed."

"Yeah, I heard that part … but I missed the part as to why?"

"There's been a subtle shift in the Force as of lately. I received a few images from my mediation which have led me to believe that our suspicions are correct."

"You mean … they're really here?"

"Yes, unfortunately so"

"But Master Skywalker, we traveled for a solid month straight, criss-crossing this planet with Mr. Tullemore's funds. We never felt even a whisper of the Dark Jedi's presence."

"I didn't, but you might have been too occupied in Perth with the twin blondes."

"Err … yeah. They were, umm, quite intelligent young ladies. Very, very receptive to the idea of a universal energy field that binds all living things …"

"Right. And the fact that the three of you drank a whole bottle of this 'whiskey' had absolutely nothing to do with it?"

Liam had the grace to look down and blush a tiny bit before grumbling: "Well, I _thought_ they were listening to me …"

Heaving a big sigh, Luke asked him: "I won't even bring up San Francisco, London, or Hawaii. So really, how did you make it past the apprentice stage without Kyle strapping a thermal grenade to you?"

"My winning smile and loving personality?"

"Right. He called you the biggest klutz he'd ever seen. Anyway, we're digressing … again. I have come to the conclusion, after much mediation, that the Dark Jedi have been here for a significantly longer time than us and have integrated themselves into this world's politics as well as the global economy. They've hidden themselves very well and we don't have the time or the resources to sniff them out. Seeing as how they're from our galaxy, they're our responsibility … and we need help. This SHIELD agency can give us that help."

"You know they're going to lock us up and throw away the key when they find us?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. I sense that we need them and they need us. Now go …"

Heaving another big sigh, and grumbling under his breathe, Connacht saluted Master Skywalker and grabbed the keys to his Harley.

This is how he found himself sitting in a bookstore, staring at his bike … and feeling three very strong Force presences converge on his location, more specifically, across the street.

**Hellicarrier Briefing Room  
One Hour Ago**

It had been a frantic and quick meeting between Director Fury, Hill, and the Avengers that were available.

Fury had indeed promised at least two weeks off from saving the world, but he judged the swordsman to be enough of a threat that he needed to bring in the big guns.

Unfortunately … he didn't really have the big, big guns of the Avengers.

As it turns out Stark and Banner were at a science convention in London. According to the Agent's shadowing them the "Science Bro's", as they had been dubbed, were having nerd-gasm after nerd-gasm and, even if they left now, still wouldn't be here for another four hours at least.

The only other heavy hitter besides Iron Man and Hulk was off traipsing around another dimension playing Fabio with his neurotic, crazy as a bag of cats, brother...

_Well, we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way_ thought the one eyed master spy.

After gathering Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, he showed them the highlights of the video and gave them their instructions.

"This opponent is extremely capable and could probably wipe the floor with you three … if he's aware that you're there at all. This is simply a recon and tag mission. Plant the tracker on his bike, observe, and then follow." said Fury.

All three glanced at the file … then looked up again at him.

"So" said Barton, known as Hawkeye "You want us to follow a telepath who can probably sense us coming a mile away?"

"And then" said Natasha, aka Black Widow "You want us to plant a tracking device on him … a guy who telekinetically flung a half ton of debris, crushing a bunch of Chitauri soldiers"

"Sir" said Steve, who so far hadn't commented on anything yet "can you replay the clip that the traffic camera caught today?"

Fury nodded and motioned at Hill to do so. They were again treated to the sight of Connacht removing his helmet and pausing to glance up at the camera. Steve frowned at the subsequent head shake. Fury watched him and said:

"What's your take on this?"

Steve sat quietly for another moment before replying: "Director, I think he wants us to find him. He obviously knew where the camera was … and the Agents on the scene say he's sitting in a bookstore having a cup of coffee, all the while scanning the street occasionally. I think he's waiting for us to make contact"

Fury was about to reply when he was interrupted by Barton.

"Maybe he found a new spell inside one of the books and he's just waiting for an unsuspecting Avenger to try it out on … Or maybe ... It's a trap!"

Director Fury counted to ten to help try and avoid the migraine that was threatening to form behind his eyes.

"Whatever it might be, Barton, I want him trailed and then possibly detained" he said "You have your orders, now go"

Steve spoke up one last time: "Sir, how about if we just go talk to him instead?"

One look from the single eye silenced that line of questioning.

"Sorry sir, going now sir …" said Steve as they got up and filed out of the room.

Fury put his head down, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, and muttered: "I really need Phil to wake up …"

**Barnes and Noble  
Now**

Connacht sat, sipping his coffee, and started talking to himself out loud.

"There's two coming down the walkway … and one across the street. All with their attention focused on me."

Shifting so that his lightsaber wasn't digging into his hip anymore, he shifted his attention to what was coming. Glancing out the window, he could just make out the couple walking arm in arm. She had flaming red hair and a winning smile, and his short cropped hair bobbed every time she talked, laughing as if he was responding to a joke she was making.

There was only one problem with them. They moved with an almost cat like grace … and their eyes never stopped scanning the area around them. They hid it very well, but then again … there's not much you can hide from a Jedi Knight who has the Force with him.

Liam tracked them till they arrived at his bike. The redhead stopped for a second, leaning down to tie a shoelace that had come loose. If he hadn't been paying attention, he almost would have missed her planting a device on his bike.

_Let them think that I'm completely unaware. This _is_ what the Great Master Skywalker wants after all … _he thought, with a rather sarcastic tilt to it.

The other one across the street was a different story, though. Liam was doing his best to look away and not stare directly at him. He was tall, blonde haired and blue eyed … and his Force presence blazed with Light and threw out a sense of just plain old _good_.

Mumbling to himself, he said: "Time to poke the Sarlac then …"

Swigging down the last of his coffee, he grabbed his helmet and strode out the door. One look told him that the couple was slowing their pace and blondie across the street had abandoned all pretense of looking casual. Walking up to his bike, he pondered how this was going to play out. There was two ways this could go down. One, he acts all casual and just lets them track him wherever … or two, he forces their hand.

_To quote Master Katarn "When in doubt, shoot first … ask later"_ he thought.

Keeping his eyes on blondie, he reached down underneath the bike and grabbed the tracking device. Looking at it briefly, he sent a small surge of Force energy though it. It was just enough to fry the electronics inside and catch their attention. He then tossed it into the street and leaned back against the motorcycle, waiting.

The couple paused in their walking. Blondie, however, took this as an invite to come across the street … which is exactly what Liam wanted.

Striding up to the bike, Steve quietly studied the man they were after. Leaning against his cycle, the man presented an air of indifference … but he could tell that there was certain wariness underneath.

Stopping a few feet away, they regarded each other in silence for a minute. Then, in a surprise move, Steve decided to break the ice. He squatted down and picked up the destroyed tracking device. He paused, looking it over briefly, before saying:

"You know, that was quite an expensive piece of machinery."

With his smirk growing into a grin, Liam replied: "I had to get your attention somehow, didn't I? You folks weren't exactly about to come over and say hi."

Steve gave a small smile in return. There was something likable about this guy, even if he had that slightly sarcastic attitude. Then Steve did the most unexpected thing … he stuck his hand out and said:

"Captain Steve Rogers, U.S. Army"

Connacht paused for a second, as if listening to something, and then grabbed Steve's hand in the universal sign of greeting, a handshake.

"Liam Connacht, Jedi Knight of the New Republic and illegal alien to the planet Earth."

After the two shook hands, Natasha and Barton were very slowly making their way back towards the pair.

"What the hell is Cap doing?" whispered Hawkeye.

"I do believe … he's making us a friend" replied the Black Widow.

"Great. Let's consider these mission parameters blown to hell …Maybe we can all get ice cream together afterwards ... "

Back at the bike, the two warriors were now carrying on an animated conversation.

"I saw a video of you and your friend fighting the Chitauri warriors. I was quite impressed." Said Steve

"Well" said Liam, looking a little abashed "We were sort of in the wrong place at the right time. And it's our duty, as Jedi Knights, to protect those who cannot defend themselves. Plasma firing flying reptiles' kind of falls under that category. We knew were exposing ourselves … but sometimes you have to do what's right, not what you need."

"I can understand that very well. I spent almost seventy-" Steve paused and held up a hand to his ear. He motioned at Liam with a finger, as if to say 'one second', and then began talking.

"Yes, I understand that Barton … Yes, I know. Call it an on the spot command decision. We're doing what we should have been doing in the first place. Saying hello"

He then turned his face towards the couple down the street. Barton had what could only be described as an aneurism face while Natasha displayed no reaction at all.

"Well, that was rude Clint … and I think, physically impossible"

Turning his attention back towards Connacht, he started to say something when he was interrupted again. This time it was gunfire.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! … Followed by the terrified cry of a child.

In an instant, all four had dropped to the street and simultaneously turned towards the source. Down the street was a black, nondescript van with no markings on it at all. A rather large thug with eastern European features was holding a struggling child with one arm and pointing his handgun back into the doorway he had just emerged from.

Throwing the child into the waiting arms of another person, he fired off a couple more shots into the doorway and then jumped inside. The van peeled out, creating a layer of smoke from the burning rubber, and quickly left the scene.

Steve was on his feet in an instant, immediately about to commandeer the motorcycle from Connacht, when a loud deep roar stared. Liam had already jumped on the bike and started it. He swiftly punched it down into gear and took off after the kidnappers.

Steve, Natasha, and Clint were left standing in the street with slightly irritated looks on their faces. Clint, being the one with the most brevity amongst them, summed it up in one sentence.

"Shit. Fury isn't going to like this."

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or the Avengers. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

I hope you enjoy it. As always, all constructive reviews will be appreciated.

Connor

Author's note: I hope the last chapter wasn't all that bad. I've been considering going back and re-writing it. I'm not totally sure that I like the way it flows, or this one either … but I don't want to lose momentum on this.

On a side note, Liam Connacht is an original character. I searched Wookiepedia for a few weeks, looking for a canon character that would fit my requirements. Alas, none was found so I set out to create a new one. I gave him his first name after Liam Neeson, who played a great bad ass Jedi … even though I didn't really like the prequels that much.

His last name comes from a region in Ireland called Connacht. It's on the west side of Ireland and, in my opinion, one of the greenest and most beautiful places you'll ever visit. The people are tough, yet pleasant, and I quite enjoyed spending a few days there.

So … reviews are appreciated, aka - let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.


	4. Back on the homefront

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Wars or the Avengers. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

I hope you enjoy it. As always, all constructive reviews will be appreciated.

Connor

Author's note: I apologize for the delay in continuing this story. In a tragic series of events first the laptop died, then the external hard drive crashed, and then I lost the usb drive that had a copy of all my notes and outline for the story.

Those three things, which had all my backups on them, combined with starting a new company caused this to fall by the wayside. Anyway, enough excuses, on with the story …

Here's a little filler chapter before the main one comes up soon.

* * *

**NRV Millennium Falcon  
Present Time  
Pilot Chair**

Watching the stars slowly drift by, Mara Jade Skywalker was desperately trying to keep herself awake. She and Han were out searching this little known area off the trade route, near the Outer Rim, because it was one of the last reported locations of Luke.

_Luke_. Just thinking of him brought a frustrated sigh to her lips. They had barely been together for a year before he went chasing off after some rumor of a Dark Jedi, and now he had been gone for three months.

Of course, she thought he was an idiot for going off on a wild gundark chase with only a rumor for information … but it was one of the endearing qualities that she loved about him. In other words, she missed him and was miserable because of it.

He wasn't dead, of that she was certain … but he wasn't anywhere nearby either. The Force was being somewhat enigmatic on his whereabouts, other than letting her know that he was indeed alive and well.

So now she and Han were searching through the Outer Rim, talking to everyone they could to find out more information. All they had been able to glean from their sources was that Luke and the Knight Connacht had been on the trail of someone named Lord Parlous. Even Booster couldn't find out any more information than that.

With her eyelids drifting shut, she surrendered her thoughts on the situation and started thinking as to what she was going to do to her Farmboy when she found him. The first part would probably involve some tears on his part from the pain she would inflict on him for leaving her alone for three months.

"Enjoy that, I think he will not" came a voice behind her.

With a decidedly un-Jedi like shriek, and to be honest a little girly as well, Mara leaped up from her chair and spun to face the owner of the voice, hand reaching for the lightsaber at her side. That's about as far as she got before she came to a screeching halt.

Standing before her, slightly transparent and outlined in blue, was a stooped older figure who bore a green cast to his elfin features and the look of serene wisdom in his eyes.

She knew who he was from countless holo-vids she had watched during her service to the Empire and from Luke's memories. Before her stood the Force Ghost of the former Grand Master of the Jedi Order and her husband's mentor … Yoda.

* * *

**New York State**  
**Tullamore Estate**  
**Main manor**

Jedi Master Luke Skywalker was in a pensive, yet reflective, mood.

Liam had left several hours ago to try and make contact with the Avengers and wouldn't return for a while, if not till tomorrow. That would turn out however it was going to, Force willing. He wasn't completely concerned about that.

No, what had him reflecting in deep thought was the conversation he and their host just had.

Alex Tullamore, owner of the property they resided on and based their operations out of, had taken them in when their X-wings had landed almost on his front lawn. He had been a gracious individual, accepting their stories without batting an eye and letting them use his funds to conduct their search.

Truth be told, he kind of reminded Luke of old Ben. He had that look in his eye that said "I know something you don't know".

Part of that had been Luke's introduction to the archaeological discoveries on this planet. There was an undeniable amount of evidence that went back several million years. It was an almost unbroken chain that said 'Humans came from here!'

There was a persistent nagging gut feeling that, if he were to do a DNA study, he wouldn't find much of a difference between the humans of Earth and his own galaxy. This sent his thoughts into a tailspin. Humans were the most prolific species of his galaxy, holding immense political power. If it were to be discovered that they were in effect an invasive species … well, there would probably be consequences to that galaxy wide.

This is why he hated politics …

Clearing his mind, he settled down on his favorite bluff overlooking the river and closed his eyes, sinking into a mediation trance as a bright white light filled his mind.

* * *

As the deafening silence continued, Yoda simply raised one eye and set both his hands on top of his walking stick.

Mara went to raise her hand to her forehead unconsciously, in that universal movement people do when they're confused or don't know how to react to something. That's when she noticed something was wrong.

Her hand was outlined in blue ... and semi-transparent.

The first words out of her mouth were somewhat less than dignified of a Jedi Knight and probably shouldn't have been said in front of the Grand Master of the old Order.

"Oh _shavit_! I'm dead!"

This was not what Yoda was expecting to hear. In the manner of all great teachers he attempted to calmly explain that there was a rational reason for what was happening. That was what he would be doing, however, if he could get in a word edgewise.

"Calm yourself young-"

"Shut the _Frak_ up! I'm trying to think!"

"Not what it seems-"

"Luke is going to kill me!"

"Explanation, there-"

"Oh Force! I'm _dead_!"

Yoda had enough at this point. He very calmly shuffled over to the frozen stiff, but yet panicking, Force presence of Mara and whacked her on the knee with his walking stick. That seemed to set off a reaction which, although it got her out of her panic mode, Yoda didn't really care for.

"OW! What in the 9 Corellian hells was that for you little troll?"

As soon as she said this, Mara froze again.

She had just called one of the greatest Jedi in living memory a troll …

"Listen to me you would not. Joined the Force, you have not. Explanation there is for this. If proof you require, look there you shall" he said as he pointed towards the pilots' chair.

Mara's view shifted to see her body laying limp in the seat. She raised an eyebrow as the thought "_I sure look dead to me"_ crossed though her head. But then the body in the chair shifted. And then drooled a little. And then let out a snore.

"Huh. Luke's right ... I really do snore."

"If theatrics you are done with, much to explain have I. Little time have we. Explain to both at once, I must"

That brought her up short from the examination she was conducting of her sleeping body.

"Both?" she said.

Not bothering with a verbal reply, Yoda simply grabbed her hand and the world dissolved into a bright white light.


End file.
